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Taylor: Former Rebel On College Baseball’s Fast Track

One Saturday in mid-November of 1989 I emerged from a darkened movie theater wearing a pair of sunglasses. Luckily, it was a bright and sunny afternoon, so no one seemed to notice my shades.

Underneath my shades were the tears for a story set in a faraway place I’d never heard of before that movie — Natchitoches, La.

It’s been 23 years since I first saw the movie, “Steel Magnolias.” But, naturally, as I was finishing an interview with Sammy Hassen, I had to ask: “So, you’ve seen Steel Magnolias, right?”

“I can’t lie, I’ve never seen the movie, but I’ve heard a lot about it since I’ve been here,” Hassen said. “From what I hear, they have a great Christmas celebration every year. I’m a kid at heart, so I’m looking forward to that.”

A 2005 Southside graduate, Hassen knew from the time he was old enough to walk that he would someday coach. He made an early decision that he wouldn’t coach high school sports, either. His mission is clear and simple — he wants to coach college baseball.

Early one morning last week, Hassen loaded his belongings in a moving van and sped off to that wonderful little town I had cried about so many years ago after landing a job as an assistant baseball coach at Northwestern State.

“I’ve never been a person that’s been scared to go out on my own,” Hassen said. “Coaching is about an opportunities and taking advantage of it.”

Good Connections

Coaching is as much about connections and knowing someone as it is Xs-and-Os. The right connection will get you a seat on the bench at the College World Series. Just ask Hassen.

Hassen’s migration from Fort Smith to Russellville, then Fayetteville and eventually Natchitoches, started with the help of former Arkansas Tech hitting coach Chris Curry.

A stud catcher during his days at Conway, Curry played professionally for seven years before getting into coaching in 2007. Now, just five years later, he’s a rising star in college coaching. And, with Curry’s help, Hassen appears to be right behind him.

“Chris took the volunteer job at (Arkansas), and then when he left to coach at Meridian Junior College for two years, he got me the (graduate assistant) job at Arkansas,” Hassen said. “He’s been a big help with my career.”

Earlier this summer, when the newly-hired Lane Burroughs was assembling the Northwestern State coaching staff, he named Curry as the Demons’ pitching coach. On Curry’s recommendation, he tabbed Hassen as the Demons’ new first base coach.

“I’m looking forward to it and nervous and all of the above,” Hassen said. “Coach Burroughs has one of the best reputations. I really trust that he’s going to look out for me. It’s a good fit with a good staff.”

Hassen spent 2011-12 college baseball seasons with the Razorbacks, seeing and often hearing the same things head coach Dave Van Horn heard from rabid Razorback fans. This past May, for example, when a vast majority of Razorback fans turned their attention back to football, the Hogs’ baseball team was treading water in the SEC.

Of course, by mid-June, most of those Razorback fans were back on the wagon.

“Some people have different expectations,” Hassen said. “We were 20-3 and then we hit the SEC. I wouldn’t say we faltered in the SEC, and that’s what a lot of people don’t understand. We ran into the toughest conference in the country. We didn’t play our best baseball, but it prepared us for Omaha.”

Hassen is eager to get on with his career. And, though he still hasn’t seen one of the great movies of the 1980s, Hassen has something in his pocket most young assistants don’t – knowledge learned from Van Horn and UA assistants Dave Jorn and Todd Butler.